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עברית
In 2000, Rabbi Menachem Ofen was on his way to deliver Mishloach Manot to Israeli soldiers for the Purim holiday. Suddenly, a car drew up behind him and gunmen flooded his car with bullets. Both he and his brother were shot multiple times, in an attack claimed by Hamas terrorists. IDF soldiers arrived on the scene within minutes and rushed him to the hospital.
Rabbi Ofen miraculously survived, thanks to the heroic efforts of the IDF soldiers. While recovering in the hospital, Rabbi Ofen decided that he needed to dedicate his life to strengthening the soldiers who had risked their lives for him, and do so day in and out for the people of Israel entire.
His non-profit organization, Or LaChayal, is one of Israel’s leading organizations supporting IDF soldiers. Working in collaboration with the Israel Defence Force and the Friends of the IDF in the United States, Or LaChayal works tirelessly to strengthen Israel’s soldiers, physically and spiritually, feeding the body and feeding the soul of Israel’s Army.
The IDF is the world’s only Jewish army. At 18 years old, young men and women from across Israel’s spectrum are drafted and will spend between 2-3 years learning, training, and tirelessly defending the state of Israel. Soldiers come from all sorts of backgrounds: some are secular, some religious; Some are from families who immigrated from Europe, some Russia, some Ethiopia and others Yemen. What unites them all is the service they fulfil to the Jewish people – literally, our first line of defence. Because the IDF is the national army, it tries to make soldiers with all levels of religiosity feel comfortable. All food is kosher, work is avoided on Saturday (though is considered to be ‘pikuach nefesh’ when it needs to be performed), doors are all hinged with the mezuzah. Army units celebrate Jewish holidays together on their bases, most of which have synagogues and Torah scrolls. But the army is not a religious institution – its main goal is to defend the people of Israel. So its financial priority is not helping its soldiers increase their connection to their Judaism, nor increasing religious practice within its ranks. There are lots of things that could be done, but can’t be afforded. Or LaChayal agrees with this: the army’s job is to serve and defend, and in the new Middle East there is no pause in protecting the people of Israel. But this is the world’s only Jewish army, and that uniqueness means something, for the IDF serves not just its soldiers, and the people of Israel, but represents a global nation entire, the entire Jewish people. It is the army of the Jewish people.
So Or LaChayal helps the IDF and its soldiers to (re)connect to its Jewish traditions and celebrations, to strengthen the Jewish identity of the Israeli army.
It’s important for you to know, however, as you read about our work, that nothing we do comes with even an iota of coercion or proselytism. We know that many soldiers connect to their Judaism in non-religious ways and prefer to engage in their Judaism outside of ceremonial practice. The IDF also has tens of thousands of heroic non-Jewish soldiers: Christians, Druze, Bedouin, Circassian. In no circumstance would we want to create an environment where these soldiers do not feel like an accepted, valued, and loved part of the IDF.
But there’s also truth in the expression “there’s no atheists in foxholes” – that the fear, and risk, that serving in an army entails sometimes demands, and requires, the strength and confidence that religious belief brings. At Or LaChayal, we want every soldier who seeks that strength, to know that in everything he does in the defence of the Jewish people, God is behind him.
But this is the world’s only Jewish army, and that uniqueness means something, for the IDF serves not just its soldiers, and the people of Israel, but represents a global nation entire, the entire Jewish people. It is the army of the Jewish people.
So Or LaChayal helps the IDF and its soldiers to (re)connect to its Jewish traditions and celebrations, to strengthen the Jewish identity of the Israeli army.
It’s important for you to know, however, as you read about our work, that nothing we do comes with even an iota of coercion or proselytism. We know that many soldiers connect to their Judaism in non-religious ways and prefer to engage in their Judaism outside of ceremonial practice. The IDF also has tens of thousands of heroic non-Jewish soldiers: Christians, Druze, Bedouin, Circassian. In no circumstance would we want to create an environment where these soldiers do not feel like an accepted, valued, and loved part of the IDF.
But there’s also truth in the expression “there’s no atheists in foxholes” – that the fear, and risk, that serving in an army entails sometimes demands, and requires, the strength and confidence that religious belief brings. At Or LaChayal, we want every soldier who seeks that strength, to know that in everything he does in the defence of the Jewish people, God is behind him.